For those that missed the game yesterday, I have to say that the box score just doesn’t do justice to the way the game went. The Sox were pounding Rodrigo Lopez all night, with loud outs all over the outfield. Dustin Pedroia is smoking balls every at-bat now. Jon Lester was a bit inconsistent, but his stuff was still electric, freezing guys at the dish. Also not reflected in the box score: Justin Upton’s mammoth home run in the 2nd that landed in Landsdowne Street. That was a Manny Ramirez-type blast. That kid’s got some incredible power.

Is Daniel Bard being overused? Bard has appeared in 33 games this year, and is tied for the AL lead in that category. With 34.2 IP and 522 pitches thrown already, he has pitched more than half of his innings total from 2009 (minor leagues included). The Red Sox assure us that they are monitoring both Bard and Jonathan Papelbon closely, but all the more reason for us to go out and get an established reliever to add to our bullpen.